50 Natives: California : California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

I have to admit…after the fun I had with my presidential candidates inspired native plants I am struggling to continue the series. I love it, but I need to make it more interesting and fun. I am drawing visitors from all over the world so I am asking for your help. Email me you favorite native plant from your state or country and I will put together a write up on it. If you are a fellow blogger, I will also feature your site in the write up. Here are the guidelines that I have given myself for this series:

Must be a native of the state or country.

Must be a good landscape plant – no obscure, puny or hard to grow things…

Try to have some style, grace, particular beauty or interesting feature.

Best if it speaks to a place….like when I see floppy orange poppies…I think of California.

And if you have an interesting story or history to tell about the plant…all the better.

So please join in…I will do all the hard work, I just want to hear from you and get your input.

So on with California. California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are on the simple side when it comes to poppies. The flowers are solitary on long stems with four petals. Their color ranges from yellow to orange and they flower from February to September. Dead easy to grow.

I am a poppy and daisy type of girl. (and there is a poppy and daisy type). When I got married, I was a pretty easy bride…I had few directives…I just wanted a poppy daisy bouquet. I ended up with wildflowers, because I refused to go silk and poppy- daisy bouquets are difficult.

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rochelle greayer

Hi, I'm Rochelle and for 18 years I have worked as a landscape designer, author/writer, and design teacher.
I've designed residential and hospitality (for hotels, restaurants, and spas) gardens across the USA and in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. After many years of teaching garden design topics in person, I launched the PITH + VIGOR Boot Camp series in early 2018.
Through my blog, social media, and online courses (Garden Design Bootcamp and Planting Design Boot Camp) I aim to help homeowners learn how to confidently design and create home gardens that reflect their own personal and unique style.

Live in Nova Scotia, Canada where the growing season is considerably shorter from that of
California. Fell in love with California poppies (and other things!). I found on Bing an amazing
website of Queen Elizabeth’s formal dresses. When she visited California, (60’s) she wore an
exquisite gown embossed with California poppies. Breathtaking! You will find the time looking
for the dresses well taken.
I visited California this past April,2016, Felt very much at home and would love a return visit.